Toyota Fortuner vs Mitsubishi Outlander

What's the difference?

So, after a week of driving the Toyota Fortuner Crusade, did it have a podium finish for my family?

I was hopeful, but no. The driving performance was mixed and only being able to fit two car seats will limit flexibility for younger growing families. I don't like the way the third row is stowed as it makes the boot a bit awkward to use. Combined with the retro-feeling tech and short servicing intervals, there can be some improvement here, especially in a market that is surging forward with all of those elements. I did enjoy the high driving position, safety features and the forgiving suspension, though. 

My son liked the 'Feverish Red' colour and that he didn’t need my help to climb in and out of it.

Apart from the cramped third-row seating (for adults at least) and space-saver spare, it’s difficult to find anything else deserving criticism. The Exceed combines sharp styling, a plush interior and upmarket appointments with the performance, practicality and all-round competence required for the Outlander – particularly in Exceed model grade - to justify its place as a leading contender in Australia’s medium SUV market. Worthy of a test drive and serious consideration. 

Nothing discernible to me has been changed since the last model but let me paint the picture for you. Imagine a dual-cab HiLux with a boot and you’ll come up with something similar to the Fortuner.

It sits proudly at 1835mm tall. The sides are almost slab-like and it's squared off at the rear, which the chunky C-pillar and dark windows do nothing to detract from. It’s definitely prettier up front with a nicely tapered bonnet.

City-dwellers need not beware, at 4795mm long and 1855mm wide, it’s accommodating in a tight car park.

The interior is classically Toyota. Everything is where you expect to find it but it’s lacking some wow factor. There are a lot of hard plastics throughout that highlight this.

With tech, trims and ambience all getting upgraded in the market, the interior is a bit of a let down.

However, there’s a certain comfort in seeing a traditional gear shifter, handbrake and manual clock in an off-roader. In my mind, it lends a certain weight to the vehicle's capability.

Exterior styling is richly contoured with fine attention to detail in the bold multi-element design of the grille and headlights that projects a prestige look.

The sumptuous interior, with ‘diamond-quilt’ stitching prominent on the seat-facings and door trims, adds to the upmarket appearance. Occupants are pampered by lots of soft-touch surfaces, exposed seam-stitching and a visually-pleasing mix of contrasting tones.

The interior has a bright and airy feel, particularly with the panoramic sunroof and optional light grey leather trim in our example. However, a darker upholstery shade might be more practical for young families, given inevitable scuffs and stains would be less visible.

Second-row legroom is spacious, even for my adult ‘kids’ (LOL) who are both more than 180cm tall. They have about 40mm of knee clearance when sitting behind the driver’s seat in my position, which shows efficient use of floor space.

However, the prominent contour in the roof lining required to accommodate the sunroof imposes on headroom for taller people.

Adding 5+2 equals seven so that includes a third row of seating, which folds flat but can be easily raised and head-rests installed (these are stowed beneath the luggage area floor) to allow seven-seat versatility.

However, providing adequate legroom for adults in these seats requires the second-row to be slid so far forward its occupants have their knees pressed into the front seat backrests. So, in real-world use, the third-row seats are strictly for small kids.

The interior isn’t terribly practical for a seven-seater, so there’s room for improvement. And that seems to be the running theme for the Fortuner.

First and second-row occupants will enjoy the most room but it’s best to think of the third row as 'sometimes seats'.

It was easy for my six-year old to get in and out with the side steps, and he had a great view from the wide rear window.

Individual storage is good with a double glove box, cooled middle console, two cupholders and drink bottle holders in the first and second rows plus an extra two retractable cupholders in the dash (hurrah!). Third row occupants miss out on them completely, though.

However, I think the storage bins and map pockets are a tad too shallow to be that useful.

The boot space is on the smaller side and the way the third row stows on the side encroaches on the space and creates a large blind spot on an already chunky C-pillar.

With all three rows in action, there is 200L of cargo capacity available, but you can stow the third row to get 716L. If you want maximum cargo capacity, the middle seats can also be folded and that figure jumps up to 1080L.

The tech feels retro and not in a good way. The 8.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system is plain on the graphics and laggy, plus on the smaller side for the market now.

It also only has wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto but it's fairly easy to connect.

Also, there is only one USB-A port in the whole car and no wireless charging pad. You do have a couple of 12-volt ports and a handy 220-volt plug for when you’re camping or something but that’s it for charging, which is surprising for a family SUV nowadays.

With its 1760kg kerb weight and 2355kg GVM, our test vehicle has load capacity of 595kg, of which up to 80kg can be carried on the roof.

However, given five adults and two kids could use up most of that seven-seat load capacity before you could think of adding luggage, it’s important to keep an eye on these load ratings when preparing for a trip.

The Exceed is also rated to tow up to 1600kg of braked trailer and with its 3955kg GCM rating (or how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time), it can legally tow its maximum trailer weight while carrying its maximum car-load. That’s a handy set of numbers for most recreational tasks.

In addition to USB-A and USB-C ports plus a 12V accessory socket, storage for driver and front passenger includes a large-bottle holder and bin in each front door, a single glove box and an overhead glasses holder.

The front of the centre console has open storage up front, two cup/small-bottle holders in the centre and a box at the rear with padded lid that doubles as an elbow rest.

Second-row passengers, in addition to USB-A and USB-ports, air-vents and a climate control panel on the rear of the centre console, get a bottle-holder and small bin in each door. There are also large lower pockets on each front seat backrest, plus two small upper pockets handy for loose items.

The 60/40-split second-row seat also has a fold-down centre armrest containing two cup/small-bottle holders.

When folded flat this also provides a handy opening in the seat's backrest through which long and narrow items can be carried (suitably secured of course), stretching from the tailgate to the dash if need be. Third-row passengers have small storage bins on each side.

The carpeted luggage area offers another 12-volt outlet and retractable load-anchorage hooks. Load volume starts at (VDA) 163 litres with all seats upright, which expands to 478 litres with the third-row folded and up to 1473 litres (or more than 1.4 cubic metres) with the second and third rows folded.

Our test vehicle is the Exceed 5+2 Seat (fancy name for a seven-seater), which is one rung below the premium Exceed Tourer 5+2 Seat on the Outlander’s nine-model petrol-only ladder comprising 2WD and AWD variants.

It’s available only with a 2.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine, eight-speed CVT auto and all-wheel drive transmission for a list price of $52,640. Our example is equipped with light grey leather-appointed seat trim and 'White Diamond' prestige paint which are extra-cost options.

Being a sub-prime model, you’d expect it to come loaded with features and the Exceed doesn’t disappoint, starting with 20-inch two-tone alloys with 255/45R20 tyres plus a space-saver spare. We’d prefer a full-size alloy spare as found in lower-grade models, given the Exceed's AWD rough road capability.

The Exceed includes all the features in the well-equipped Aspire AWD 5+2 Seat petrol model below it and adds tri-zone climate control with rear seat control panel, panoramic sunroof, hands-free power tailgate, power front passenger seat as well as driver and front passenger seat memory and heating.

There's also an aluminium gearshift trim panel, rear door roll-up sunshades, unique illumination in front door trims, 10-speaker BOSE premium sound system, 12.3-inch digital driver display, heated steering wheel, front LED sequential indicators and 'Mi-Pilot' driving assistant (see Driving).

Plus, there’s a leather-rimmed and heated steering wheel, leather-wrapped gearshift, wireless phone-charging, full LED lighting including DRLs and front/rear fog-lights, 360-degree camera view, front/rear parking sensors, driver’s head-up display and much more.

All Fortuner models share the same 2.8-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-diesel engine but it’s the main star that perfectly complements the 4WD system.

With a maximum output of 150kW and a massive 500Nm of torque, most weekend adventures can be pursued. It also doesn’t feel like you’re digging deep for that power, which is great.

The six-speed auto transmission is fairly smooth but occasionally the pick up is slow, so I wouldn’t be zipping across traffic in this. 

The Exceed’s refined 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine produces 135kW at 6000rpm and 244Nm of torque at 3600pm and can use 91 RON fuel.

The smooth and responsive CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) 'eight-speed' has overdrive on fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth ratios which ensures low rpm and fuel consumption at highway speeds. Sequential manual-shifting is also available using steering wheel-mounted paddles.

Mitsubishi’s full-time all-wheel drive transmission offers six drive modes controlled by a console dial. These comprise 'Normal', 'Eco', 'Tarmac', 'Gravel', 'Snow' and 'Mud'.

The official combined cycle fuel number is 7.6L/100km. Real world testing saw my figure at 9.1L and I covered a good mix of urban and open road driving this week.

Considering its size and that it’s a turbo, I thought it was fairly efficient for how I drove it, but it could be better given it’s a diesel.

The Fortuner has an 80L fuel tank with an approximate range of 880km, using our on-test average fuel economy figure.

Mitsubishi claims combined cycle average consumption of 8.1L/100km and the dash display was showing 9.0L/100km at the completion of our 378km test, which comprised mostly city and suburban driving with up to five adults on board.

Our figure, calculated from fuel bowser and trip meter readings, was not far from the Outlander’s at 9.8L/100km. So, based on our numbers, you could expect a real-world driving range of around 560km from its relatively small 55-litre tank. That range extends to 680km based on the Mitsubishi's official consumption number.

And the good news is the Outlander Exceed runs happily on 91RON 'standard' unleaded.

Mostly okay but there are points to consider for long-term use.

We’ve already covered that the engine has enough grunt for off-road pursuits but I enjoyed the torque because it means it's fairly easy to maintain a consistent speed on hills, which isn’t always the case for large SUVs.

However, the steering feels heavy at lower speeds. It makes the car feel older than it is and cumbersome to turn in car parks.

I'm not a fan of the steering wheel, either. The leather is hard/rough and the wood panel insert at the top is slippery, which is an odd combo for an off-roader where you want to stay very much in control.

The taller centre of gravity does give some roll in corners but it’s also not the sort of car you go hard in on bends, anyway. So, that's not surprising.

However, the Aussie suspension tuning gets an A+ because the ride comfort is good and you won’t really notice potholes or bumps.

This has a 360-degree view camera set-up with guidelines but the image is disappointingly blurry for a top-spec model. 

Drivers of different stature can find comfortable driving positions, as confirmed by the 20cm difference in height between my wife and me.

With ample adjustment available in the steering wheel and multi-way powered seat, she enjoyed driving the Outlander and praised the seat memory function, which could quickly change from my settings to hers with the push of a button. Very handy when you share driving duties.

The driver’s seat is comfortable and supportive, with ample side-bolsters on the backrest providing good lateral support for the upper torso.

A large left footrest provides a solid platform to brace against and padded elbow-rests on each side enhance driving comfort, particularly on long trips.

Overall, it’s a refined and comfortable vehicle which feels like it has solid build quality. The ride quality is smooth and supple over bumps with negligible tyre, engine and wind noise, particularly at highway speeds where the engine requires a leisurely 1800rpm to maintain 110km/h.

The driver’s head-up display on the windscreen works efficiently, by displaying signposted speed limits and the vehicle’s road speed in your line of vision. It would be hard to come up with a viable excuse for exceeding the speed limit using this system!

We also trialled the numerous selectable drive modes. Although the Normal setting provides ample performance for most requirements, we found the Tarmac mode was the most engaging and rewarding for road use wet or dry, with all-wheel drive traction and optimised gearshift calibrations combining to provide spirited performance.

We also had an ideal opportunity to test the Mi-Pilot semi-autonomous driving assistant while crawling along in dense freeway traffic triggered by major road maintenance works.

Given this required lots of stop-start driving, the Mi-Pilot maintained a safe distance from the car in front and slowed, stopped and accelerated in unison, without driver input. And only light hand-contact with the steering wheel was required for the Mi-Pilot to maintain its lane-keeping function.

The Outlander scored a maximum five-star ANCAP assessment in 2022 and features a comprehensive menu of passive and active features as you’d expect, including front, side and centre airbags for driver and front passenger, plus driver’s knee and side-curtain airbags.

There’s also AEB plus lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert, rear automatic emergency braking (when reversing), trailer stability assist for safer towing and lots more. Plus there’s two ISOFIX child-seat anchorages and three top-tethers.

Ongoing costs are always something to consider and the Fortuner comes with a five-year/unlimited km warranty, which is standard for the market.

Unfortunately, it only comes with a three-year capped-priced servicing plan, which is unusual for this class.

The services are affordable at $290 per service but the intervals are painful at every six months or 10,000km, whichever comes first. 

Mitsubishi covers the Outlander with a five-year/100,000km warranty with 12 months roadside assist.

Extended 10-year/200,000km warranty and 10 years capped-price servicing is available if the car is always serviced within the Mitsubishi dealer network.

Scheduled servicing is every 12 months/15,000km, whichever occurs first. Capped-price servicing for 10 years totals $4340, or a reasonable $434 annually.